Right Wing Religion

ALL ARTICLES, Right Wing Religion September 3, 2020

Right Wing Religion Round-Up: ‘Christian’ Fundraising Site Has Exceeded Its $220,000 Goal For Accused Kenosha Shooter Kyle Rittenhouse

By Tom Boggioni Raw Story (8/30/20) According to a report from the Religion News Service, a website dedicated to raising funds for Christian endeavors has allowed supporters of accused Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse to accumulate over $220,000 for his defense. Rittenhouse, 17, is facing extradition to Wisconsin and has been charged as an adult with two counts of first-degree homicide and one count of attempted homicide in addition to charges of recklessly endangering two other victims and possessing a weapon while under the age of 18. As RNS reports. the fundraising site Give Send Go has been hosting the plea for…

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ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, History They Don't Want You To Know, M. Taylor Columns, Police State America, Right Wing Religion, War State America August 27, 2020

Kenosha Militia Violence Is A Dire Development Not To Be Ignored

Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, of Antioch, Illinois on the streets of Kenosha (Twitter). The trend of police and right wing fascist cooperation is as troubling as it is obvious and does nothing — absolutely nothing — to enhance the limping legitimacy of law enforcement. By Mark L. Taylor The Commoner Call (8/27/20) (Note: This column was updated 3:10 p.m., 8/27/20.) Memorial Day saw the video documented murder of Black citizen George Floyd in Minneapolis by white police officer Derek Chauvin, which initiated protests against police brutality and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement around the globe. Just shy of…

ALL ARTICLES, Right Wing Religion August 6, 2020

Right Wing Religion Round-Up — Unzipped: Internet Stunned By Now-Deleted Suggestive Photo Of Jerry Falwell Jr. 

By David Badash Raw Story (8/4/20) A Houston Chronicle reporter posted what appears to be a screenshot from Liberty University President Jerry Falwell, Jr’s Instagram account, and it’s going viral on social media. The unconfirmed photo appears to be of Falwell Jr., with his arm around a young woman, his pants unzipped with underwear showing. He is holding a glass. “More vacation shots,” the caption reads. “Lots of good friends visited us on the yacht. I promised that’s only black water in my glass. It was a prop only.” Robert Downen, whose bio says he reports on “All things faith/religion”…

ALL ARTICLES, Right Wing Religion July 23, 2020

Right Wing Religion Round-Up: Texas Church Blames Parents After Campers Test Positive For COVID-19

  ‘I didn’t force you to send her’ By Travis Gettys Raw Story (7/20/20) Parents are furious at a Texas church camp after children started testing positive for the coronavirus following a summer camp. Keller’s Keystone Church hosted the camp from July 6-10 in Hill County, which is between Dallas and Waco, and public health officials have confirmed some cases are linked to the camp, reported WFAA-TV. “She hasn’t eaten at all — she hasn’t eaten in about two days, actually,” said Stephanie Brady, whose daughter is quarantining in her bedroom after testing positive for COVID-19. “There’s only so much Netflix…

ALL ARTICLES, History They Don't Want You To Know, Right Wing Religion July 6, 2020

White Supremacist Ideas Have Long, Dark Historical Roots In American ‘Christianity’

“The part of the country that was the most fervent about religious faith was also the one that practiced white supremacy most enthusiastically.” By Tom Gjelten NPR (7/2/20) hen a young Southern Baptist pastor named Alan Cross arrived in Montgomery, Ala., in January 2000, he knew it was where the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. had his first church and where Rosa Parks helped launched the famous bus boycott, but he didn’t know some other details of the city’s role in civil rights history. The more he learned, the more troubled he became by one event in particular: the savage attack…

ALL ARTICLES, Right Wing Religion June 11, 2020

Right Wing Religious Round-Up: Dominionists Say Crises​ & Trump’s Reelection​ Will Set Stage For Church To Grab Greater Authority

By Peter Montgomery Right Wing Watch (6/8/20) Lance Wallnau, a proponent of Seven Mountains Dominionism and a prominent “prophetic” supporter of President Donald Trump, used a Pentecost Sunday webcast May 31 to urge Christian leaders to work ​to reelect Trump and to prepare to take greater governing authority in the world. Wallnau and other dominionists argue that the “shaking” that the United States has experienced with the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic fallout—in addition to the the unrest in many cities following the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police—are being used by God as a divine “reset,” setting the…

ALL ARTICLES, Health Care, Right Wing Religion May 25, 2020

Onward Christian Liars: ‘Jane Roe’s’ Deathbed Confession Exposes The Corrupt Big Money Immorality Of The Christian Right

Sadly, it seems as though many anti-choice extremists don’t have much of a soul to lose in the first place. By Arwa Mahdawi The Guardian (5/21/20) What would you do for almost half a million dollars? Would you very publicly denounce your past life and pretend to be an anti-abortion, born-again, ex-gay Christian? Thanks to her newly public deathbed confession, we now know that’s what Norma McCorvey, best known for being the plaintiff known as Jane Roe in the 1973 landmark supreme court case abortion rights case Roe v Wade, did. In 1969, a 22-year-old McCorvey was pregnant and scared. She’d had…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Health Care, History They Don't Want You To Know, Right Wing Religion May 21, 2020

Why Don’t Americans Trust Experts Anymore?

“There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that ‘my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.” ― Issac Asimov Amanpour & Company (5/15/20) A tussle between science and politics is defining the pandemic response of the Trump administration. How did this increasing rejection of expertise get started? Professor Tom Nichols wrote a prescient book on the subject in 2017, and joins Hari Sreenivasan to discuss. Link…

ALL ARTICLES, Right Wing Religion April 9, 2020

Right Wing Religion Round-Up: ‘Death is a welcomed friend’: Pastor Calls On Christians To Defy Coronavirus Safety Lockdown — Even If It Kills Them Or Neighbors…’

By Sky Palma Raw Story (4/8/20) Pastor Tony Spell of Life Tabernacle Church in Baton Rouge spoke to TMZ this Wednesday, saying that if his church members die from coronavirus, they’ve done so in the name of religious freedom. Spell was charged with violating an executive order that bans churches from holding large gatherings, but showed his defiance last Tuesday by holding a service that was attended by over 1,000 people. Speaking to TMZ, Spell said that true Christians would be willing to die from coronavirus, adding that those who “prefer tyranny over freedom do not deserve freedom.” “The bible teaches us to be absent from our bodies so…

ALL ARTICLES, Health Care, Right Wing Religion March 26, 2020

Pretender ‘Pro-Life’ Republicans Okay With Killing Off Grandma & Grandpa For Wall Street

Fox’s Brit Hume Says It’s ‘entirely reasonable’ To Let Grandparents Die For The Stock Market [Editor’s Note: Republican hypocrisy of its anti-abortion policies and propaganda has always been marked by hostility to the programs and funding needed to maintain a quality life beyond the birth canal; you know, little things like housing, health care, child care and education. The hypocrisy has soared to new heights in the Trumpandemic with a ho-hum attitude about sacrificing older citizens on the Altar Of Wall Street benefits. — Mark L. Taylor] By Matthew Chapman Raw Story (3/24/20) On Fox News Tuesday, commentator Brit Hume…

ALL ARTICLES, Right Wing Religion March 19, 2020

Right Wing Religion Round-Up: Trump’s Grifting Televangelist Adviser Paula White Asks for $91 “Seed” During Coronavirus Prayer Session

Price of your ticket to heaven: $91 By Hemant Mehta The Friendly Atheist (3/17/20) If it involves the Trump administration and a crisis, you know there’s probably grifting involved. Enter Paula White, Trump’s “spiritual adviser” and the head of the White House’s “Faith and Opportunity Initiative” program. During a roughly 30-minute Facebook prayer session this afternoon, White talked about how the Bible can help us through the coronavirus quarantine… before making a direct request for seed money from everyone watching. Because what good is prayer without profit? Here’s the relevant portion: “Churches do so much. Not just from a humanitarian standpoint, but the greatest thing…

ALL ARTICLES, Right Wing Religion March 12, 2020

Right Wing Religion Round-Up — Grandstanding, Lying, Praying It Away: Dear God & Hookers For Jesus, Please Send Help

Grandstanding, Lying, Praying It Away: Dear God & Hookers For Jesus, Please Send Help By Abby Zimet Common Dreams (3/9/20) Oh man. Apocalypse now or soon: Spreading virus, plunging markets, growing evidence of “gross amateur hour incompetence” by our ill-equipped fake prez and his band of Christian zealots, headed by inept Vice-Pastor Pence. On Monday, WHO confirmed over 108,000 cases of coronavirus around the world, and at least 3,800 deaths. In the U.S., there are at least 500 cases and 22 deaths – despite Trump’s blithe pronouncement a few weeks ago the hoax’s 15 cases would soon be zero – with daily reports of spread. Facing…

ALL ARTICLES, Right Wing Religion March 5, 2020

How A Christian Nationalists “Shadow Party’ Worship Power And Love Trump

  By Amanda Marcotte Salon (3/3/20) It’s one of the most enduring conundrums of the Donald Trump era: How is it that the Christian right, the self-appointed monitors of American morality, have come to so enthusiastically back a thrice-married chronic adulterer who lies as easily as he breathes? Author Katherine Stewart has the answer: Because the true god these folks worship is power. In her book, “The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism,” Stewart details how she traveled around the country, getting to know the various Christian conservative figures that are whipping support for Trump and his agenda. She…

ALL ARTICLES, Right Wing Religion February 13, 2020

Rhode Island Priest Claims ‘pedophilia doesn’t kill anyone’ In Abortion Row

By Kenya Evelyn The Guardian (2/11/20) A Rhode Island priest who sought to ban pro-choice lawmakers from receiving communion has suggested abortion is worse than child abuse. “We are not talking about any other moral issue, where some may make it a comparison between pedophilia and abortion,” the Rev Richard Bucci told local TV station WJAR. “Pedophilia doesn’t kill anyone and this does.” The priest made headlines last week after posting a list of 44 state lawmakers who would be barred from communion because of their support for reproductive rights. “When he says that pedophilia doesn’t kill people, well, he clearly doesn’t understand. He…

ALL ARTICLES, Resist!, Resistance Tunes, Right Wing Religion February 13, 2020

Listen To This! Indiana Pastor’s Beautiful Song To Trump’s Evangelicals Calls Out Their Betrayal Of Christian Teachings

New Mexico carved angel. You said to love the lost So I’m loving you now You said to speak the truth So I’m calling you out Why don’t you live the words That you put in my mouth May love overcome and justice roll down “A poignant, unexpected protest has also come from one Daniel Deitrich, an Indiana pastor who grew up in an evangelical community and farm town in Michigan, was “taught to take the words of Jesus seriously – Love God, love your neighbor, feed the hungry, fight against injustice…love, peace, kindness, gentleness,” and is “deeply saddened” by the loyalty…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Right Wing Religion January 30, 2020

Chris Hedges: Onward, Christian Fascists

Trump has filled his own ideological void with Christian fascism. By Chris Hedges Truthdig (12/30/19) The greatest moral failing of the liberal Christian church was its refusal, justified in the name of tolerance and dialogue, to denounce the followers of the Christian right as heretics. By tolerating the intolerant it ceded religious legitimacy to an array of con artists, charlatans and demagogues and their cultish supporters. It stood by as the core Gospel message—concern for the poor and the oppressed—was perverted into a magical world where God and Jesus showered believers with material wealth and power. The white race, especially…

ALL ARTICLES, Right Wing Religion January 27, 2020

Who Will Protect My Right NOT To Pay For Your Child’s Hateful Religious Education?

“Let people practice their faiths however they see fit. But respect my freedom from religion as much as I respect your freedom of it.” By Steven Singer Gadfly On The Wall (1/24/20) When I was a kid back in middle school, I had a crush on this girl, let’s call her Patty. She wasn’t the most popular or beautiful girl in class, but I kinda’ liked her. Of course, she had no idea I was alive. Or so I thought, until one day she walked straight up to my desk and started rubbing my hair. I was shocked at first, but then…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, FEATURE, Rethuglicans, Right Wing Religion January 23, 2020

Supreme Court Could Rule That You Will Be Forced To Subsidize Private Religious Schools

By Nina Totenberg Morning Edition / NPR (1/22/20) The U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments Wednesday in a major case that could dramatically alter the line separating church and state. At issue is a Montana state constitutional amendment that bars direct and indirect taxpayer aid to religious institutions. Conservative religious groups and advocates of school choice are challenging the “no-aid” provision. They have long sought to invalidate state constitutional amendments that prohibit taxpayer funding from going to religious schools. Given that Montana is one of 38 states with a “no-aid” provision, the court’s eventual decision could have far-reaching consequences. The case…

ALL ARTICLES, FEATURE, Right Wing Religion January 16, 2020

Wisconsin Community Shows How Christian Evangelicals Worship Trump More Than Jesus

Large numbers of voters across rural Wisconsin flipped from supporting Obama to Trump – now the dividing lines over him are even deeper By Chris McGreal The Guardian (1/15/20) Pastor Franz Gerber is worried that so many members of his congregation appear to idolise Donald Trump more than they worship Jesus. The preacher at the Praise Chapel Community church was among those who voted for Trump in rural Forest county, Wisconsin, which swung heavily from Barack Obama to the Republican in 2016 and so helped deliver a state that put the president in the White House. Gerber now has some regrets about his vote…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, FEATURE, Rethuglicans, Right Wing Religion, Trumpenstan January 13, 2020

Former GOP Strategist Rick Wilson Pens New Rules For Republicans Who Have Decided To Worship ‘Sniffles The Clown’ Trump As Their God

By Sarah K. Burris Raw Story (1/8/20) Former Republican Rick Wilson unleashed an epic rant against Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) Wednesday night. As part of the mockery of the South Carolina Senator, Wilson outlined new rules for Republican officials to follow under the leadership of President Donald Trump, who he called “Sniffles The Clown.” “The assertion by Lindsay Graham that today’s bizarre performance by Sniffles The Clown was on par with ‘Tear Down This Wall’ is part of the Saddamification of the GOP,” said Wilson. “What are the new rules?” he asked. Never be the first guy to stop clapping…

ALL ARTICLES, Right Wing Religion January 2, 2020

Right Wing Religion Round-Up: Bill Barr Is On A Theocratic Mission To Use DOJ To ‘Deliver’ America From Eternal Damnation

By Matthew Chapman Raw Story (12/30/19) Attorney General William Barr is worse than a simple right-wing partisan, wrote religious nationalism biographer Katherine Stewart and former American Constitutional Society president Caroline Fredrickson for The New York Times. Rather, they argued, he is best understood as a fanatical theocrat who believes America is damned to burn in hell — and seeks to use the powers of his office to course correct the nation’s sinful ways. “Why would a seemingly respectable, semiretired lion of the Washington establishment undermine the institutions he is sworn to uphold, incinerate his own reputation, and appear to willfully misrepresent the reports…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, FEATURE, Rethuglicans, Right Wing Religion, Trumpenstan December 30, 2019

Craziest Op-Ed Of 2019 Arguing Trump Will Inspire A Religious Revival Is Far More Than It Seems

By Mike Lofgren Common Dreams (12/27/19) “For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.” —Matthew 24:24 Just when you thought the soon-to-expire year had long since reached peak stupidity, Newsweek published a piece that set a record for preposterous ideas, confidently but incoherently argued. At first glance, it also appeared to demonstrate the lengths the supposedly mainstream media will go in giving equal time to fringe points of view—what is pretentiously called the national conversation. But it may actually be the result of a more ambitious agenda than just a…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Police State America, Rethuglicans, Right Wing Religion December 23, 2019

American Christmas Hypocrisy

The nativity scene at Claremont United Methodist Church, Claremont California. Like families in our federal concentration camps, Jesus, Mary & Joseph portrayed as refugees separated in cages. As folks gather with family and friends this Wednesday for Christmas keep in mind the thousands of immigrant children — including toddlers and infants — separated from their mothers and fathers in the spreading United States concentration camps along the southern border.  The message of the season couldn’t be further removed from the policies of this criminal government. While conservatives love to rail on and on about a fictitious “war on Christmas” and many…

ALL ARTICLES, Climate Change, Right Wing Religion December 19, 2019

Right Wing Religion Round-Up: ‘Kill the gays’ Pastor Claims Young Climate Activist Greta Thunberg Is Demonically Possessed & ‘needs Jesus’

By Kyle Mantyla The New Civil Rights Movement (12/17/19) Radical right-wing pastor Kevin Swanson declared on his radio program yesterday that Time magazine’s decision to name climate change activist Greta Thunberg as 2019’s Person of the Year is a sign of “the unraveling of the Western world.” Swanson, who normally uses his radio program to declare that the proper biblical punishment for homosexuality is death, seized on the fact that Thunberg has Asperger’s syndrome, and suggested that she is demonically possessed and in need of Jesus. “She’s psychologically disturbed,” Swanson said, likening her to the young boy in Mark 9 who was healed by Jesus after being possessed by a demonic spirit. “I have to say…

ALL ARTICLES, Health Care, Right Wing Religion December 2, 2019

Ohio Bill Orders Doctors To Do Impossible ‘reimplant ectopic pregnancy’ Procedure Or Face ‘abortion murder’ Charges

Ohio introduces one of the most extreme bills to date for a procedure that does not exist in medical science. By Jessica Glenza The Guardian (11/29/19) A bill to ban abortion introduced in the Ohio state legislature requires doctors to “reimplant an ectopic pregnancy” into a woman’s uterus – a procedure that does not exist in medical science – or face charges of “abortion murder”. This is the second time practising obstetricians and gynecologists have tried to tell the Ohio legislators that the idea is currently medically impossible. The move comes amid a wave of increasingly severe anti-abortion bills introduced across much of…

ALL ARTICLES, Right Wing Religion November 28, 2019

Right Wing Religion Round-Up: Ex-Trump Adviser Explains The ‘revolting’ Reason GOP Officials Keep Saying Trump Was Chosen By God

By Matthew Chapman Raw Story (11/26/19) On CNN Tuesday, former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci broke down why Republicans like Energy Secretary Rick Perry and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley are suggesting that President Donald Trump was chosen by God. “They’re signaling to the president that they’re ultra-loyal to him,” said Scaramucci. “Remember, you’ve got to go 13 for 12 with the president. You can’t go 7 for 8, because then they’ll start tweeting about you all kinds of nonsense. They need to signal to him that they’re 100 percent or 130 percent loyal to him. But they’re also…

ALL ARTICLES, Right Wing Religion November 18, 2019

Right Wing Religion Round-Up: Trump’s Right-Wing Christian Lawyer Ordered Lies That Landed Trump’s Former Fixer In Prison: MSNBC’s Donny Deutsch

By Travis Getty The Raw Story (11/15/19) MSNBC’s Donny Deutsch warned President Donald Trump’s associates to ignore advice from the president’s attorneys, because they’ve already landed someone in prison. The “Morning Joe” contributor revealed that Trump’s personal attorney Jay Sekulow, a religious right media figure, has already gotten former Trump Organization attorney Michael Cohen sent to prison to protect the president. “I’m going to give them the number, it’s 1-800-Otisville, and they should all call Michael,” said Deutsch, a friend of Cohen’s. “None of these people are going to tell anything but the truth. By the way, the lie (Cohen)…

ALL ARTICLES, FEATURE, Right Wing Religion November 14, 2019

Evangelical Foster Mom Challenges Religious Right On Hypocrisy Regarding Govt. Abuse Of Migrant Children

By Rachel Martin Morning Edition / NPR (11/12/19) NPR’s Rachel Martin talks to Gena Thomas about how she helped a five-year-old girl from Honduras reunite with her mother. Thomas is the author of: Separated by the Border. Link To 7-Minute Audio (Commoner call cartoon for Mark L. Taylor, 2019. Open source and free for non-derivative use with link to www.thecommonercall.org ) ***** U.S. Held Nearly 70,000 Migrant Children In Government Lock-Up In 2019 “There was despair everywhere.” By Christopher Sherman, Martha Mendoza & Garance Burke Associated Press (11/12/19) COMAYAGUA, Honduras (AP) — The 3-year-old girl traveled for weeks cradled in her father’s…

ALL ARTICLES, Right Wing Religion November 4, 2019

Right Wing Religion News Round-Up: Fake ‘Christian’ Leaders Laid Hands On & Prayed For Trump Ahead Of Impeachment Vote

[Editor’s Note: The hypocrisy and Orwellian levels of sycophancy of these evangelical charlatans and hustlers zooms off the chart into crazy land. — Mark L. Taylor] By David Badash Raw News (11/1/19) President Donald Trump’s evangelical Christian supporters laid hands on and prayed for the president this week in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, just days before the House of Representatives voted to pass impeachment inquiry procedures. Among those in attendance, hate group head Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council; Former GOP Congresswoman and failed presidential candidate Michelle Bachmann; Fox News contributor, and anti-Muslim, anti-Catholic, and Judaism Dallas megachurch…

ALL ARTICLES, Right Wing Religion October 10, 2019

Right Wing Religion Round-Up: Trump’Spiritual adviser’ Says To Say No To Trump Would Be Saying No To God’

  By Travis Gettys Raw Story (10/9/19) President Donald Trump’s spiritual adviser Paula White says she was ordered by God to serve the Republican president. The prosperity gospel pastor explained that she was compelled to serve as chair of Trump’s evangelical advisory board. “Literally, the God aspect, like, what God told me to do, how I even got involved, because the one thing that I said, I’ll never do politics,” White said. “But when it came down to it, it wasn’t about doing politics, it was about an assignment. To say no to President Trump would be saying no to…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Right Wing Religion October 3, 2019

Trump’s Top Religion Advisor Declares Democrats Do Not Worship Jesus They Worship Demon God ‘Moloch’ (Video)

[Editor’s Note: Now keep in mind, this guy’s political operation gets tax-exempt status as a church, so in effect, you are subsidizing this freeloader to call for your persecution. — Mark L. Taylor] By David Badash The New Civil Rights Movement (10/1/19) President Donald Trump’s top religion advisor Dr. Robert Jeffress has some news for the millions of Democratic voters who happen to be Christians: You are not. Dr. Jeffress, who sits on President Trump’s Evangelical Advisory Board and even led a private pre-inauguration sermon for the Trump and Pence families hours before the president was sworn in, was not shy about his feelings on Christian Democrats….

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, FEATURE, History They Don't Want You To Know, Police State America, Rethuglicans, Right Wing Religion, Surveillance State, Trumpenstan September 30, 2019

Pathocracy: The Pathological Power Of Governments Led By Narcissists & Psychopaths

The danger of democracy transitioning into pathocracy is always real. It is always closer to us than we think, and once it has a foothold, will crush every obstacle in its way. By Steve Taylor The Conversation (9/19/19) After spending his early life suffering under the Nazis and then Stalin, the Polish psychologist Andrew Lobaczewski devoted his career to studying the relationship between psychological disorders and politics. He wanted to understand why psychopaths and narcissists are so strongly attracted to power as well as the processes by which they take over governments and countries. He eventually came up with the term “pathocracy”…

ALL ARTICLES, Right Wing Religion September 23, 2019

Right Wing Religion Round-Up: Evangelical Christian Conservatives Are Giving Americans An ‘Allergic Reaction’ To Religion

By Brad Reed New Civil Rights Movement (9/18/19) The number of Americans identifying as atheists is increasing — and recent social science research suggests that the Christian Right is playing a key role in making that happen. As reported by Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight, new research has found that distaste for Trump-loving Christian conservatism has not just turned some Americans off from individual churches but from religion altogether. “As recently as the early 1990s, less than 10 percent of Americans lacked a formal religious affiliation, and liberals weren’t all that much likelier to be nonreligious than the public overall,” FiveThirtyEight notes….

ALL ARTICLES, Right Wing Religion September 12, 2019

How Corporate America Invented ‘Christian’ Libertarianism & The Myth Of A ‘Christian America’ To Fight New Deal Reforms

The rise of corporate religous nationalism. By Ron Briley History News Network (3/23/16) The 2016 annual meeting for the Organization of American Historians (OAH) will feature a session focusing upon the provocative book One Nation Under God by Princeton history professor Keven M. Kruse. In One Nation Under God, Kruse argues that the idea of the United States as a Christian nation does not find its origins with the founding of the United States or the writing of the Constitution. Rather, the notion of America as specifically consecrated by God to be a beacon for liberty was the work of corporate and religious…

ALL ARTICLES, Right Wing Religion September 12, 2019

Religious Right Round-Up: Liberty University Insiders Blow The Lid Off Evangelical Jerry Falwell Jr’s Shady Personal & Business Dealings

“Somebody’s gotta tell the freakin’ truth’.” By Brandon Ambrosino Politico (9/9/19) At Liberty University, all anyone can talk about is Jerry Falwell Jr. Just not in public. “When he does stupid stuff, people will mention it to others they consider confidants and not keep it totally secret,” a trusted adviser to Falwell, the school’s president and chancellor, told me. “But they won’t rat him out.” That’s beginning to change. Over the past year, Falwell, a prominent evangelical leader and supporter of President Donald Trump, has come under increasing scrutiny. News outlets have reported on business deals by Liberty University benefiting Falwell’s friends. Trump’s former personal…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Right Wing Religion September 9, 2019

Why Margaret Atwood Resisted Writing A ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ Sequel — Until Now

By Scott Simon Morning Edition Sunday / NPR (9/8/19) Margaret Atwood has written a sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale — that sentence alone will move millions of readers to buy the book ASAP. The final act of that book, published in 1985, saw its unnamed heroine Offred (at least, that wasn’t her real name), step off the pages and into the unknown. The new book is The Testaments, and it returns us, 15 years later, to the fictional totalitarian theocracy of Gilead, with its Handmaids, Marthas, Wives, Commanders and Aunts. Atwood says it just seemed like the time for a sequel. “People had…

ALL ARTICLES, Right Wing Religion September 5, 2019

Right Wing Religion Round-Up: Evangelical Leader Claims Teaching Kids Basic Science Causes Mass Shootings

By Ed Mazza HuffPost (9/2/19) A right-wing evangelical leader on Sunday claimed mass shootings are caused by “driving God from the public square” and more specifically by teaching kids science such as evolution in schools. “We’ve taught our kids that they come about by chance through primordial slime and then we’re surprised that they treat their fellow Americans like dirt,” Tony Perkins, head of the Family Research Council, said on “Fox & Friends” one day after a gunman in Texas killed 7 and wounded 21 others. He added: “I think we have to go back to the point where we instill in…

ALL ARTICLES, American Fascism, Health Care, Rethuglicans, Right Wing Religion, Women In America August 29, 2019

A New Poll Reveals What Anti-Choicers Are Really About: Controlling Women

The goal of abortion opponents is clear: they do not want women to be equal players in society. [Editor’s Note: This article explains perfectly the hypocrisy of how anti-choice activists, who are supposedly in favor of life, oppose healthcare, education and childcare and supportive family programs that help the lives they hypocritically say they are so concerned about. The reason is that it is not about life; it is all about control, dominance and power over women. — Mark L. Taylor] By Jill Filipovic The Guardian (8/22/19) According to self-identified “pro-life” advocates, the fundamental divide between those who want to outlaw…

ALL ARTICLES, Right Wing Religion August 26, 2019

Right Wing Religion Round-Up: Trump Gets Stumped By Easy Bible Questions In Newly Resurfaced Video

“I have a great relationship with God.” By Lee Moran HuffPost (8/23/19) An old video in which President Donald Trump dodges questions about the Bible is going viral again in light of the president’s new claim that he is the “chosen one.” In the 2015 interview on Bloomberg Politics that Twitter user @Caring_Atheist shared online Wednesday, Trump (who’d earlier called the Bible his favorite book) appears reluctant to reveal his favorite verses. “Because to me that’s very personal,” Trump sidesteps. “You know, when I talk about the Bible it’s very personal so I don’t want to get into verses. The…